News

2006 Mar , 4

Giorgio Gucci, en el Festival del Habano

The word Gucci means tradition in the realm of fashion design, a one-hundred-year-old tradition that keeps sending vibes as good as ever. Giorgio Gucci, a member of the third generation of a celebrated family from Italy, says he’s proud of continuing an activity that basically remains faithful to the great crush that his grandparent –Guccio Gucci, founder of the great Florentine-based company- always had on fashion.

The well-known designer, internationally acclaimed for the quality of his proposals, is also admired by the Cuban public. On this island nation, Mr. Gucci sketches out plans to enhance his presence here and comes up with new ideas ranging from wholesales all across Cuba through state-run outlets to playing back both classical and Cuban music in his stores.

Any new line in store?

With my Giorgio G trademark I introduced a line of women’s designs for modern and juvenile girls, paying close heed to fancy night gowns. In the same breath, some collections for kids I’ve recently created have also made quite a big splash. This allows me to achieve my initial goal: to open up stores with highly prestigious items and with a view to lead the way and assess commercial interest within the Cuban market. On the other hand, this concept paves the way to meet my other objectives: offer as many Cuban customers as possible top-quality items at very affordable and competitive prices.

Your entry in the Cuban market has been successful. Is there any secret recipe to pull this off?

The key to my success lies in offering an ideal product for Cuban women, designing and piecing together a varied and continuously new collection. That’s why I lay out and design over four collections every year, maybe five handbag and purse collections. At the same time, I proudly sponsor the marketing department and the organizing committee of Cuba’s Habanos S.A.

And what about today’s fashion?

The collections I present in line with today’s fashion are very much in sync with overall trends, yet they are made in keeping with the formula that has always singled out my proposals. That is, I’m not an out-and-outer and I rather try to make them go along with the canons that rule the balance between good taste and finesse.

A collection of mine also comes into life in line with the functional demands of today’s lifestyle. Furthermore, I like to relate with the public, so I’m considering the idea of putting on more fashion shows and cashing in on special events, grand openings and artistic performances to do so.

In the case of Cuba, is there any new thing coming up?

In recent years, I’ve enhanced my presence in Cuba with the opening of new outlets that add to the existing ones, like those at the Commodore and Cohiba hotels, at the Carlos III Shopping Mall, in Old Havana and many other places. The latest boutique –and perhaps the most luring- was opened in December at the Havana Libre Galleries. In all, there are 22 outlets, including customized locations and corners in three of the island nation’s airports. Novelty is the beginning of a very important project linked to wholesale distribution through state-run institutions specialized in selling all across Cuba’s provinces and cities. Finally, and in line with my opinion, I believe I’ve got my mind made up to play back classical and Cuban music in my boutiques. For this particular idea, I’m counting on the help of my friend Frank Fernandez, one of the best-known maestros and by far Cuba’s finest pianist.

Then, are you pleased with your presence in Cuba?

I’m as pleased as I can possibly be about a job well done in Cuba. I’ve attained the goals I laid out before coming to Cuba. And all that is owed in part to the leaders of Cuban commercial institutions that know how to do their job. I’d like to thank all Cuban customers in particular for their buying my products and the tremendous esteem they’ve shown toward my designs.

Giorgio Gucci, en el Festival del Habano


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